New Delhi: Shami bowled four spells in Madhya Pradeshs first innings finishing with impressive figures of 19 overs 4 maidens 54 runs and 4 wickets. His scalps included MP captain Shubham Sharma all-rounder Saransh Jain and two tail-enders. Three of his dismissals were bowled while one was caught behind by keeper Wriddhiman Saha. In a video shared by BCCI on X Shami appeared in excellent rhythm consistently challenging the batters with his sharp seam movement. Although this is encouraging news for Team India the national selection committee according to PTI will monitor how Shami’s body responds in the second innings specifically watching for any swelling or discomfort after the match. If Shami meets all the fitness benchmarks it’s highly likely he will team up with pace leader Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the second Test which will be a day/night match. Ajay Ratra from the selection committee and Nitin Patel head of the NCA Medical Team are expected to play key roles in assessing Shami’s fitness. Ratra who accompanied Patel to observe Shami’s performance will provide feedback to chief selector Ajit Agarkar captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir before a final decision is made. Obviously Shami was asked to play this game keeping in mind that the next round of Ranji Trophy will only start on January 23 after the Test season is over a BCCI sourced told PTI. So the selectors had only one match to check his fitness. He has bowled 19 overs in multiple spells and fielded for most part of the 57 overs. He bowled 90 dot balls. But he will again have to bowl and field (in the second innings). Suppose he bowls another 15 to 18 overs in the second innings thats a very decent amount of overs bowled. But the biggest test would be whether he again feels any pain after four days. If the NCA medical team green-lights his fitness obviously he will join before the second Test the BCCI source added. With the Ranji Trophy match concluding on November 16 Shami could potentially join the squad ahead of the first Test scheduled to start in Perth on November 22. However this timeline may be too tight leaving limited time for travel and adjustment. If Shami joins the squad he would have the opportunity to participate in a two-day day/night practice match against the Prime Ministers XI providing valuable preparation ahead of the series. Beyond the wickets he claimed on Thursday the team management national selection committee and BCCI’s Sports Science & Medical Team are primarily focused on assessing how well his body endures the workload. Shami who last played competitively in the ODI World Cup final on November 19 last year had since undergone ankle surgery. His return for the three-Test series against New Zealand was further delayed when he developed knee swelling pushing back his comeback plans. Sources indicate that although an 18-member squad has already been named for the Australia series the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee and team management are prepared to bring Shami on board as soon as Dr. Nitin Patel head of the BCCI’s Medical and Sports Science team declares him fit.